Community leaders ask why city did not publicly defend BLM and Pride murals after vandalism; downtown partnership installed camera

An audience member speaking as a representative of the local NAACP said the Black Lives Matter mural and a downtown Pride flag mural were repeatedly vandalized and that neither city officials nor the downtown partnership publicly defended the artworks, prompting questions during a public forum.

The NAACP representative said the murals were attacked multiple times and asked who repainted them and whether the city or business groups had supported restoration. A respondent in the room said the artists repainted the Black Lives Matter mural; the transcript records the reply “The artists did.”

Emily Cameron, identified in the session as the leader of the downtown partnership, told the audience that the business community had brought in a security camera “to be able to proactively prevent future vandalism.” She described that as a proactive step the business community had taken to protect the murals.

Speakers in the room said they had expected more visible public support from city officials and the downtown partnership when the murals were defaced. The conversation included disagreement about how best to respond: some urged public condemnation and visible institutional support; others said acts of vandalism can keep a conversation alive and suggested leaving damaged work in place briefly to prompt discussion.

No formal city action, city‑council vote or ordinance was recorded in the session. The transcript indicates the artists themselves repainted the Black Lives Matter mural and the downtown partnership later installed surveillance to deter further attacks, but it does not report any direct funding, repair contract or formal city statement in support of the murals.